I/We Myself and 3 daughters 18-23 are looking for a good dive shop in Cozumel.

[mattia_v]

While I understand the appeal of a 'Resort Course' and just 'getting under water to stare at the pretty fish', I would be very leery of doing it on the cheap, and without adequate knowledge. I get the feeling from your responses that you're taking this diving thing too lightly.

Diving can be dangerous. You need to understand what you're doing. The money spent on adquate OW training is money well spent, an investment in your personal safety and ultimately enjoyment of the activity. When I was only just certified, I went on a few additional dives with an uncertified girlfriend (the only one in the group) after a discover scuba session in the pool. The conditions were easy (no current, shallow dives), the guides good and safe (1:1 for her, 4:1 for the rest of the guides), but I would still not do it that way again. Simply too many things that can go wrong, and go wrong quickly. If even one of your four panics under water, you've got one guide who can't focus on the rest of you. OW water training is, like others have said, a bare minimum. I'm only now actually fairly comfortable in the water, and well aware of my limitations (for the record: 80 dives, AOW, Nitrox certifications; almost all warm water, all recreational).

I'm all for discover scuba (it's how I started), but understand that it's an introduction to diving, not a good gateway to several days of diving. At that point very seriously consider getting certified.

 

[Jim Bobo]

While I understand the appeal of a 'Resort Course' and just 'getting under water to stare at the pretty fish', I would be very leery of doing it on the cheap, and without adequate knowledge. I get the feeling from your responses that you're taking this diving thing too lightly.

Diving can be dangerous. You need to understand what you're doing. The money spent on adquate OW training is money well spent, an investment in your personal safety and ultimately enjoyment of the activity. When I was only just certified, I went on a few additional dives with an uncertified girlfriend (the only one in the group) after a discover scuba session in the pool. The conditions were easy (no current, shallow dives), the guides good and safe (1:1 for her, 4:1 for the rest of the guides), but I would still not do it that way again. Simply too many things that can go wrong, and go wrong quickly. If even one of your four panics under water, you've got one guide who can't focus on the rest of you. OW water training is, like others have said, a bare minimum. I'm only now actually fairly comfortable in the water, and well aware of my limitations (for the record: 80 dives, AOW, Nitrox certifications; almost all warm water, all recreational).

I'm all for discover scuba (it's how I started), but understand that it's an introduction to diving, not a good gateway to several days of diving. At that point very seriously consider getting certified.

I get your drift (No pun intended.). We rented a boat last year and the guy say "The next time you come, we'll get you a resort course and I'll do 2 tank dives for $90 each". This really made me nervous and opened this investigation. I'm scared S***less and want to make sure that my girls are safe. At this point, I'm basically looking to snorkel and take pics without having to come up for air. The thought of "drift diving" with the current make me nervous (Maybe next year.)

 

[guruboy]

What the resort/dive shop is offering seems like a discover scuba course. As long as the instructor to student ratio is low, it's fairly safe. They would probably keep you shallow and at a depth where you could probably swim up from in a panic.

The first concern I would have is your comfort level in water. Can you swim? Can you swim without a mask/goggles? Can you breathe off a snorkel without a mask on? Can you dive in snorkel gear and clear your ears? Can you properly kick with fins?

The second concern would be the dive op's instructor skill. Not all scuba instructors are created equally.

The third concern is money. You said you didn't want to spend the $$ on a full cert with online+referral. You are aware that discover scuba is throwing money in a hole, right? The only time I have seen credit apply towards OW certification is when both the courses are taken from the same dive shop.

Scuba is a relatively safe sport. You do not need to be as highly trained as some posters are implying in order to have a good time. With that being said, training is what helps you handle the unexpected and not panic. It is very easy for things to go downhill quickly once a diver panics, turning what would be minor issues if trained into life threatening emergencies.

 

[djanni]

Yeesh. Seriously? I hope you are mistaken.

We used to dive with blue-xt-sea. They did it regularly. Never a problem. Never a shallow dive either. About 5 of our friends did that with them.

[EDIT] I should say that during that time we never saw anything unsafe. Safety was importand to the crew.

 

[ReefHound]

You are aware that discover scuba is throwing money in a hole, right? The only time I have seen credit apply towards OW certification is when both the courses are taken from the same dive shop.

Exactly. Technically, if you're DSD instructor (not a AI or DM) introduces you to the skills and lessons of OW dive 1 and leads you on an open water dive, and logs and signs off on it, you can receive credit towards OW dive 1. Practically, it's not gonn a happen. It's at the discretion of the certifying instructor whether to accept this DSD credit and I don't know any instructors who would accept this, unless maybe they personally knew the DSD instructor and talked to them. They have nothing to gain and everything to lose because as certifying instructor they are signing off on the whole course.

And there's little to gain for the student either. Don't expect a price discount. OW classes are priced for the class not by the dive or lesson. You're lucky if you get a discount if doing an OW referral and don't need any OW dives. Don't expect to save any time. You'll still need to be in all the classes since they typically aren't separated by dive and you'll need to be there class 1 to fill out all the waivers and forms. Dive 1 and 2 are typically done on first OW day so you'll still need to be at the lake both days.

What you will gain is a bit of familiarity with the skills which may benefit you during the OW course.

 

[DjDiverDan]

The problem with untrained divers isn't always the depth, it's forgetting the crucial basics, like never, EVER hold your breath on scuba. You can very easily kill yourself in just 12 feet of water by taking a deep breath, holding your breath, and going quickly up to the surface - the pressure differential is enough to expand the air in your lungs by enough to cause a pulmonary embolism. Diving is very safe, PROVIDED that you know the rules and follow the rules. That is why training is important. Someone who has just a 30 minute pool session who panics at 30 feet, holds her breath and dashes for the surface before the instructor can stop her won't drown, but she may be just as dead if she blows out a lung.

 

[kelemvor]

I was under the impression that "discover scuba" and "resort courses" had been around a very long time. The costs that nodakdive listed aren't much more than I pay for a 2 tanker as a certified diver. Sure, Jim would be better off with a certification but it seems like if he wants to do discover scuba it won't likely be the end of his world, either.

 

[nodakdive]

Jim, if you want to just "try it", you should do so and not worry about further boat dives right now. With the shops mentioned in this thread, my guess is that all of them do a shore resort dive before they'll do any boat resort dives, and some might just pop you in a pool first, so that your introduction is extremely controlled. Contact the shops and let them know what you want. If you want to get in a pool first, let them know. You, your family and the instructor/s will be in a much better position to decide what the next step should be. My first 3 dives were resort dives in Cozumel and Paamul (south of Playa del Carmen) on three consecutive days. I got certified almost immediately after that. I can only directly speak for what I've witnessed with Deep Blue resort dives, but the instructors were very safety conscious and I'm pretty certain that the other shops mentioned in this thread who conduct resort dives conduct them very safely too. There's no reason to put this off until next year if you're interested now. Contact some of the shops mentioned in this thread with your request.

 

[Jim Bobo]

What the resort/dive shop is offering seems like a discover scuba course. As long as the instructor to student ratio is low, it's fairly safe. They would probably keep you shallow and at a depth where you could probably swim up from in a panic.

The first concern I would have is your comfort level in water. Can you swim? Can you swim without a mask/goggles? Can you breathe off a snorkel without a mask on? Can you dive in snorkel gear and clear your ears?

The second concern would be the dive op's instructor skill. Not all scuba instructors are created equally.

The third concern is money. You said you didn't want to spend the $$ on a full cert with online+referral. You are aware that discover scuba is throwing money in a hole, right? The only time I have seen credit apply towards OW certification is when both the courses are taken from the same dive shop.

Scuba is a relatively safe sport. You do not need to be as highly trained as some posters are implying in order to have a good time. With that being said, training is what helps you handle the unexpected and not panic. It is very easy for things to go downhill quickly once a diver panics, turning what would be minor issues if trained into life threatening emergencies.

THANK YOU!! Very helpful. We spent 2-8 hours a day snorkeling from shore and boat last year, so we're very comfortable in the water. My daughter leaves for the USMC 6/20/16, so this trip is really for her and I wanted to do something "over the top". We're only there for 8 days (Really 6... arrive on the 10th 1PM, leave the 17th 1PM) and from what I understand, it takes 3-5 days to get certified. I'd rather diversify my time as opposed to spending the $$ and time to get certified on this trip. If they really dig it, we can get certified here in the states. Do you have any recommendations for dive shops

Jim, if you want to just "try it", you should do so and not worry about further boat dives right now. With the shops mentioned in this thread, my guess is that all of them do a shore resort dive before they'll do any boat resort dives, and some might just pop you in a pool first, so that your introduction is extremely controlled. Contact the shops and let them know what you want. If you want to get in a pool first, let them know. You, your family and the instructor/s will be in a much better position to decide what the next step should be. My first 3 dives were resort dives in Cozumel and Paamul (south of Playa del Carmen) on three consecutive days. I got certified almost immediately after that. I can only directly speak for what I've witnessed with Deep Blue resort dives, but the instructors were very safety conscious and I'm pretty certain that the other shops mentioned in this thread who conduct resort dives conduct them very safely too. There's no reason to put this off until next year if you're interested now. Contact some of the shops mentioned in this thread with your request.

We're going to try it out this year and possibly get certified here in the states after. If we feel up to it we may try drift diving next year after we're certified (Definitely want to do a night dive if we're certified...those look awesome!!) Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[ggunn]

I get your drift (No pun intended.). We rented a boat last year and the guy say "The next time you come, we'll get you a resort course and I'll do 2 tank dives for $90 each". This really made me nervous and opened this investigation. I'm scared S***less and want to make sure that my girls are safe. At this point, I'm basically looking to snorkel and take pics without having to come up for air. The thought of "drift diving" with the current make me nervous (Maybe next year.)

You are right to be concerned, though scared spitless is maybe a little over the top. Since you are headed down in 4 days (you said the 10th, right?) certification before you go is not an option.

So, go there, have a great time, do your resort course and enjoy it for what it is - a small taste of the joys of diving. What it isn't is an open door into the whole experience - you have to get certified for that. Keep your expectations realistic and you'll do fine. Just don't make the trip all about diving.